Solar Energy

HARTFORD — Efforts to encourage more residential rooftop solar panels in Connecticut are being slowed by a cumbersome permitting process at the local level, the industry says. Towns and cities say that more rules will cost money. From these two points of view, legislation emerged that would require towns to approve or deny permits in 30 days and give them 30 days to conduct inspections of new installations. Solar installers say that's already part of state law, and they accuse the municipalities and their allies in the legislature of gutting legislation streamlining permits. A key complaint among solar panel installers is that permit fees charged by municipalities to homeowners...

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When state Sen. Thomas K. "Tommy" Norment Jr. went to the FBI to say he was being blackmailed, agents made no promise they wouldn't go after him if they found anything amiss.
They didn't find anything — as the U.S. Attorney's office told...

Two test wind turbines that were to rise off Virginia Beach are being put on hold by Dominion Virginia Power.
A spokesman for the utility tells The Virginian-Pilot the project is too costly, with an estimated price tag of between $375 million and...

Gov. Terry McAuliffe and other state leaders marked Earth Day on Wednesday by signing into law six measures designed to help advance solar energy and energy efficiency in the state and extend a tax credit for green jobs.
The legislation was touted by the...

Virginia is the first state in the country to secure a wind energy research lease to build and operate turbines in federal waters, Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced Tuesday.
The agreement with the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will enable...

Gov. Terry McAuliffe has signed legislation freezing electricity rates and exemption Dominion Power and Appalachian Power from periodic state rate reviews, his office said Tuesday afternoon.Senate Bill 1349 has been one of the more controversial bills...

A five-year partial freeze on power rates, combined with a pause in key state earnings reviews for the state's two biggest electric companies, cleared the Virginia House Thursday on a lopsided bipartisan vote.
The bill, assembled with significant input...

The State Senate voted Friday to shield Virginia's largest electric company from five years' worth of key rate reviews, locking in most of Dominion Virginia Power's electricity rates for the period.
The bill was amended repeatedly Friday as senators from...

RICHMOND – Republican state senators shot down changes to the state's equal pay regulations on Monday.Senate Bill 772 would have toughened existing penalties for not paying men and women an equal wage for equal work, making the penalty triple wages...

That’s right — the U.S. Internal Revenue Service will begin enforcing new quality standards for small wind turbines acquired or placed in service after Jan. 26 in order to qualify for the 30 percent federal Investment Tax Credit.
“The new certification...

Gov. Terry McAuliffe's administration put out the call this week, asking interested companies to suggest solar projects for state facilities.
The state's not planning to sign contracts immediately. It's looking for ideas to harness the sun's power...

Twenty years from now, will Virginia's coast be dotted with oil rigs or wind turbines?
Or both?
As factions face off over how best to generate energy and jobs in the coming decades, the Washington-based global conservation group Oceana released a new...

Gov. Terry McAuliffe pitched his all-of-the-above energy plan Tuesday to a joint gathering of business leaders and the Virginia League of Conservation Voters, and he won applause at several points for a promised turn toward conservation and renewable...

When it comes to energy efficiency and renewable energy sales, Dominion Resources comes in dead last or nearly so in a new report ranking the country's biggest utilities.
The report was compiled by the environmental advocacy group Ceres and the...

When it comes to energy efficiency and renewable energy sales, Dominion Resources comes in dead last or nearly so in a new report ranking the country's biggest utilities.
The report was compiled by the environmental advocacy group Ceres and the...

Dominion Virginia Power will get up to another $47 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to help build wind turbines off Virginia Beach, the department announced Wednesday.
The demonstration project is one of three the DOE is funding as it looks for...

Hurricanes are projected to get ever more fierce and destructive, but researchers say offshore wind farms can tame those tempests and protect coastal cities.
Scientists at Stanford University and the University of Delaware used sophisticated computer...

The best news about wind energy today? Buffet's billion dollar jolt in the arm...
The decision by Warren Buffett’s utility company to order about $1 billion of wind turbines for projects in Iowa shows how a drop in equipment costs is making renewable...

See how homes use solar power in different ways during the Hampton Roads Solar Tour Oct. 6-7.A major new feature this year is an extension of the tour to the Middle Peninsula, according to Ken Wright, spokesman for the tour, which is sponsored by the...

Whether it's drilling off shore for oil and natural gas, developing wind farms off the coast or a combination of the two, energy policy proposals from candidates of both parties seeking federal office could be a boon for Hampton Roads.At first glance...

Virginia regulators on Tuesday approved what could be the first offshore wind turbine built in the United States.The prototype turbine would stand 479 feet tall and be located in the lower Chesapeake Bay, about three miles from Cape Charles on...